The Montreal Canadiens made a minor move today that might light up the hearts of the smallish cross-section of people who are hockey fans and South Park veterans. They re-signed Mathieu Darche (or “Darsh” to South Park devotees) to a one-year, $700K contract extension.

The undrafted free agent forward has taken an uneven career path to this point. He appeared in a handful of games for the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2000-01 and 01-02 seasons before floating around the Blue Jackets, Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks organizations while receiving sparse opportunities. His first lengthy chunk of NHL-level playing time came with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 07-08; he scored 22 points in a career-high 73 games played.

It seems like he might have found a home in Montreal, though. After a full minor league season with the AHL’s Portland Pirates in 08-09, he really stuck with the Canadiens in 09-10. He played 29 games last season (scoring 10 points) and then earned a career-high 26 points in 59 games this season.

“We are very pleased to have reached an agreement with Mathieu Darche. Mathieu is a classy veteran player who displays great leadership and determination, and we strongly believe he can help us achieve our goals in the upcoming season,” said Canadiens general manager Pierre Gauthier.